hi you guys,you have all heard of the aniversary waltz,last weekend was our aniversary ride out.havnt seen this before,hundreds and hundreds of acres of sun flowers,all facing the same way,towards the sun[what a shock].had 11 hours riding over the two days.got bit twice by some idiotic bee or insect travelling at 60 mph.

next time your having fish and chips,you know where the sunflower oil starts its life

They obey the Sun as the day moves along. I passed through Spain several years ago and went through the central part and saw quite a few of these fields and of course quite a few of those Bill boards with Giant Bulls advertising the Bull fighting. I was in a car with a companion.We stopped at this one pump Petrol Station in the heat of the day.Like out of some old Film in the middle of nowhere this old Spanish guy came out after we Rang a bell that was hung on a piece of rope. He didn't say anything and motioned us to sit at an old dusty table that had a Parasol on it that had seen better days.We did and instead of going to the pump he went back in side,very slowly of course.He then re-appeared a few minutes later with a couple of bottles of Chilled San Miguel.The condensation dripping down the bottles and a couple of chilled small glasses. As the droplets slithered down the glass my companion was more concerned with the heat and how long it would take us to get back to civilization.I was just basking in the moment holding the bottle to my face a rolling it to cool my brow. Tank filled and we paid but I added something for the beers which the old guy never asked for.No words were spoken between us save for my little Spanish at the time to say,"Milliion Gracias Senor".He nodded and walked back into the Cantina.

Small acts of kindness,unspoken and from a stranger can burn into the memory and last a lifetime I've found.I hope I too have left some in other people's minds.

thats quite a story my friend,my mouth was drooling reading it,im at work,its so hot in here.i find lots of characters out in the campo.one old motor bike guy,long silver hair,real hippy looking owns a bar,way out in the out back,on a road called route 66.there is hardly any light inside except for blue neons,tv,plays bike racing all the time.he,s a harley man.we always stop here for a beer,and have a chat to him,its nice. have a good day

dcadon wrote:here is a picture I took of my daughter - about 3 years ago in Sarnia, Ontario. There were bees all around her,I had to convince her that the bees weren't interested in her, but more the flowers.

Sunflowers follow the sunThis phenomenon is known as positive phototropism (photo = light, tropos = turn), and although it is not fully understood yet, is commonly associated with the plant hormone auxin (indoleacetic acid). Auxin is derived from the Greek word auxein, which means to increase, and in low concentrations, it causes the elongation of plant cells by entering them and signalling the cleavage of cell wall microfibrils, allowing the cell to expand longitudinally by taking in water.Auxin is produced in the elongating tip of the stem. Experiments by Charles and Francis Darwin in 1880 proved that only when the tip of a seedling was exposed to light could bending of the stem take place. When the tip was removed or covered by an opaque cap, no bending took place. When the base of the stem was covered with an opaque shield, however, and the tip was left uncovered, bending took place as per normal.Auxin produced at the tip diffuses down the stem. Experiments in 1926 by Frits Went showed that when diffusion of auxin is uniform for all sides of the stem, elongation occurs uniformly and the stem simply increases in height. However, when diffusion is not uniformed, and one side of the stem receives more auxin than another, that particular side elongates more than the other, causing the stem to bend.However, the situation is much more complex. Although auxin is able to cause bending, there is no evidence to show that illumination of one side of the tip causes asymmetrical distribution of auxin. There is, however, an asymmetrical distribution of certain substances that may act as inhibitors that become more concentrated on the lighted side of a stem. So a reasonable answer now is that we are not entierly sure.